Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to winter tires, and in particular to a winter tire capable of improving driving performance on snow and ice.
Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2014-151811 discloses a winter tire that includes a tread portion provided with a plurality of inclined main grooves each extending axially inwardly from each tread edge to the vicinity of the tire equator. These inclined main grooves may disperse water, snow or slush under the tread portion outside of the tire. On the other hand, the axially inner end portions of the inclined main grooves extend substantially along the circumferential direction of the tire in the vicinity of the tire equator. Unfortunately, such a winter tire as disclosed in the above document would have less traction available on snow and ice. Furthermore, since the inner end portions of the inclined main grooves of the winter tire terminate without communicating with any other grooves, the inclined main grooves would be clogged up with compressed snow during traveling.